Colombia: President, 27 May 2018

At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of Colombia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderon
• Head of Government: President Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderon
• Assembly: Colombia has a bicameral Congress (Congreso) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 102 seats and the House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes) with 166 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 4-year term. Presidents are limited to two four-year terms.

Election Note:

• If no candidate receives a majority of votes on 25 May, a runoff between the two top candidates will be held on 15 June.

Main candidates in this presidential election:

• Gustavo PETRO
  • ​Party: Progressive Movement / Movimiento Progresista
  • Vice-Presidential Running Mate: Angela MARÍA Robledo
• Iván DUQUE Marquez
  • Party: Democratic Center / Centro Democratico
  • Vice-Presidential Running Mate: Martha LUCÍA Ramírez
• Sergio FAJARDO
  • Coalation: Green Alliance / Alianza Verde, Alternative Democratic Pole / Polo Democrático, and Citizen's Committment / Partido Compromiso Ciudadano.
  • Vice-Presidential Running Mate: Claudia LÓPEZ
• Germán VARGAS Lleras
  • Party: Independent (Movimiento Mejor Vargas Lleras)
  • Vice-Presidential Running Mate: Juan CARLOS Pinzón
• Humberto DE LA CALLE
  • Party: Liberal Party / Partido Liberal
  • Vice-Presidential Running Mate: Clara LÓPEZ Obregón
• Viviane MORALES
  • Party: We Are Columbia / Somos Región Colombia
  • Vice-Presidential Running Mate: Jorge LEVYA
• Jorge TRUJILLO
  • Party: We Are All Columbian / Todos Somos Colombiano
  • Vice-Presidential Running Mate: Fredy OBANDO Pinillo

Last election:

• The last presidential election in Colombia was held on 25 May and 14 June 2014. In the first round, President Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderón received 25.72% percent of the vote, below the 50 percent threshold to win the election outright. He therefore faced Oscar Ivan ZULUAGA of the Democratic Center party, who received 29.28 percent of votes, in a runoff on 20 June. In the second round, SANTOS received 50.98 percent to ZULUAGA’s  44.98 percent and was declared the winner. Full results can be found here and here and here.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 47,791,393 (2014)
• Registered Voters: 32,835,856 (2014)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 24,255,888 (2014)

·         Is Colombia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Colombia ratified CEDAW: Yes (19 January 1982)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 33 (House of Representatives); 23 (Senate) (following 2014 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 97 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Colombia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Colombia ratified CRPD: Yes (10 May 2011)

·         Population with a disability: 7,168,708 (est.)